Easter Weekend

This holiday weekend, Mommy and Evelyn kicked it off with a morning at the Zoo. We headed down early in the morning on Friday and found a place to park. Once inside the zoo, Evelyn wanted to pet some animals. We headed to the Children's Zoo first where she could pet a guinea pig and some goats. She loved it! Then we were off to see the elephants, hippos, cheetah, tigers, monkeys, giraffes, etc. It was a beautiful day and we ate lunch by the pond area. When it was time to go, Mommy wasn't even to the interstate when Evelyn was out like a light. After nap, Grandma Cheryl arrived for the weekend. We spent the rest of the evening outside playing. On Saturday, we went to swim lessons and dyed eggs. During the night, the Easter Bunny left Evelyn a trail of eggs from her bedroom to her basket of goodies. After church, we hid eggs and hunted for them. It was a lovely weekend--beautiful weather, family, and lots of fun!

3rd Birthday

Evelyn turned 3 yrs. old on Wed.! That day, we kept the celebration small--just Evelyn, Mommy and Daddy. She opened some presents from us, Grandma Jill, and Papa Dave and Grandma Jeanna. When asked where she wanted to eat dinner, she gleefully shouted "McDonald's!" Then, on Sat., we had a few friends over for a party. Our good friends, Owen and Avery came. Also, our buddy Mason attended the party. She greeted everyone at the door and they all ate some lunch. Afterwards, she opened presents and then it was time for cake. It was a princess cake and she blew out the three candles all by herself! After the cake, we played a game sort of like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, only it was Put Cinderella in her castle window. Surprisingly, she loved being blindfolded and wanted to do it several times! The winner was Owen. At 1:00, everyone had to leave as it was nap time for all the little ones. Mommy is having a hard time with Evelyn turning three--she will be going to preschool in July and each day becomes this joyful little girl.

Time Flies

Wow, has it really been about a month since our last post? So much has occurred during this time. On January 22, Rob's father (aka: Pop Bob) passed away from kidney failure. It has been a hard loss for our family. He was such a loving man who welcomed me (Kristina) into the family with open arms the moment Rob and I began dating. Bob loved Evelyn and doted on her unlike anything in this world--she was "Pop's Little Girl." While she doesn't fully understand what has happened, Evelyn understands that Pop went to see Jesus and we are sharing him just like we shared Mindy with Jesus in December.

About one week later, Evelyn has developed pneumonia. Fortunately, we did not have to stay in the hospital, but it is taking two antibiotics to fight this. We rushed to the ER on Sunday morning when her fever reached 103.5 despite our efforts to keep it low. Since then, she is recovering well. She has been fever free since Monday and each day is becoming more of her outgoing, fun self. Mommy is still watchful...

On a celebratory note, Rob received his diploma from SLU Law School this week. It was a proud moment! He also recently received his grades and did very well in his final semester (especially considering how sick his father had become during finals in December). He is now preparing to take the BAR Exam on Feb. 23rd and 24th. Please say prayers of strength, health, and wisdom as he approaches this difficult test.

Snow Day!

On Wed. night, we received a lot of snow (okay, so it was a little over 3 inches--but that is a lot to Mommy) and we had a snow day yesterday! Rob couldn't wait to get Evelyn bundled up to play outside in the snow. We layered her clothing, then put on her new coveralls, boots, hats, hood, and gloves--it was comical! She giggled as she tried to run outside and play in the snow. It was precious! After about 10 minutes, Mommy called her inside so Daddy could shovel and Evelyn could warm up.

Indiana Christmas 2009

We loaded up the Pathfinder and headed to Indiana for Christmas this year. It was odd not having Mindy along for the ride and Evelyn asked where she was. I had to remind her that Mindy was with Jesus and she would celebrate Christmas with Him. That was a hard moment. On Christmas Eve, Evelyn set out cookies and milk for Santa. The next morning, she checked to see if he had come and eaten the cookies--it was precious! She gleefully opened all her presents. She loved the baby dolls, washing machine, vaccuum cleaner, and her new board games. The drive home was a bit treacherous as a winter storm blew in that Sunday. We encountered several cars that had slid off the interstate and even came to a standstill as there had been a serious accident blocking one lane of traffic. Fortunately, the weather eventually let up and road conditions improved the closer we got to home. Now to unpack everything and put it all away--oh what fun!

Christmas Time

We know it is a bit early, but with a pending winter storm threatening to change our travel plans; we celebrated Christmas at home tonight. Evelyn had a blast opening presents and couldn't wait to use all of them! From the stocking to her last present, she giggled and oohed at everything. As I type, her and Daddy are playing with a Playdo Octopus thing that we bought for her. Though her sheer joy of opening presents made us smile, we couldn't help but notice the void in the room as Mindy wasn't there to open her stocking from Santa Dog. We are celebrating with a mixture of emotions this year--grief for the loss of Mindy, joy for the moments with Evelyn, and thankfulness for the love we have of our family and friends.

Goodbye Mindy

At 5:00 p.m. this evening, Rob and I said goodbye to our wonderful 12 1/2 yr. old black lab, Mindy. She has been a part of our lives ever since Rob and I began dating. Mindy was just weaned when we purchased her from a breeder in KY. I remember the ride back to Rob's apartment and how Mindy sat perfectly in my lap. We called her our "pretty princess" and adored her. As I moved away to TN after college, she was my companion. She protected us, gave us joy, and above all unconditionally loved us. Since late October, Mindy's health began to fail. She began suffering from arthritis and Cushing's disease. As of late, she began to have accidents in the house, bleed for no reason, and eat very little. Our vet, Dr. Miller, said it was time to say good-bye to her. We didn't want her to suffer anymore. It has been the hardest thing for us. Mindy went peacefully in Rob's arms while I kissed her good-bye. Our home seems empty now and our grief is great. There will never be a more loving and wonderful pet than our beloved Mindy.